Doon University holds 5th Convocation
By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Dehradun, 27 Dec: Doon University held its fifth convocation here, today, in the presence of Chief Guest and Chancellor, Governor Lt General Gurmit Singh (Retd), and Distinguished Guest, Higher Education Minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat. Padma Bhushan awardee Prof P Balaram, former Director of the Indian Institute of Science, delivered the Convocation Address.
Thirty-seven students who were toppers in their respective courses were awarded gold medals at the convocation. The academic procession was led by the Registrar of the University, Durgesh Dimri.
The convocation commenced with lighting of the ceremonial lamp by the Chancellor and distinguished guests, followed by the University Kulgeet. The Chancellor declared the 5th Convocation open and the Vice Chancellor, Prof Surekha Dangwal, conferred 398 Graduate, 293 Postgraduate, and 25 Doctoral degrees on students and scholars who graduated in the year 2023. In addition, the Chancellor felicitated five alumni as “Distinguished Alumni of the University” for their remarkable contributions in their respective fields. These are Medha Aggarwal for Chemistry, Neha Rawat for Spanish Studies, Abhilash Nainwal, an advocate at the High Court of Uttarakhand, Pooja Saklani, founder of Mori Design Firm, and Pooja Panwar, who is an Environmental Scientist at ATG Group, England. Additionally, two students, Sumit Sharma from School of Media and Communication Studies, and Rishabh Uniyal from School of Management were conferred the “Prof. Gajendra Singh All Round Best Student Award” in recognition of their overall remarkable performance.
The keynote speaker Dr P Balram congratulated all the degree holders, gold medallists and awardees on their achievements and also admired Doon University for its constant efforts at imparting skill-based knowledge and creating a scientific temperament in the field of higher education in the state of Uttarakhand.
He further highlighted the importance of science and technology and urged all the young scientists and scholars to take responsibility to make India shine by transforming the present status quo into a positive and developed nation. In his keynote speech, he further discussed the relevance of science and technology based human evolution and its significance in creating better human resources for the country.
The Chancellor congratulated the graduating students and credited the Vice Chancellor’s dynamic leadership for the University’s progress. He congratulated the university fraternity on being awarded ‘A’ grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). He emphasised that the foundation of a nation’s advancement rests on the strength of its human capital cultivated through a robust education system. Recognising teachers as the key architects of this process, he urged the faculty to develop innovative pedagogy that inspires creativity and critical thinking among students.
Higher Education Minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat congratulated the graduating and gold medallist students and stressed that skill development along with cognitive development of students is of utmost priority.
Building upon last year’s theme of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (The World is One Family), this year’s convocation theme was “Mati” (Soil/Earth), focusing on the preservation of the earth, a topic of international concern and contemporary relevance. Various programmes related to the preservation of the earth will be organised by the university throughout the year to honour this year’s theme. The convocation was conducted by Prof HC Purohit. It was attended by students, alumni, parents, and guests of the University while the University faculty and staff played proud hosts.
